Tony Stark

I had a really wonderful Mother's Day. Without prompting, you came out of your room in the morning and the first thing you said was "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy". I melted, seriously melted; because you remembered and you are only six.

We went to see an early showing of Iron Man 2 and then that night I made dinner for all of us and a couple of friends, even yours, who you invited to dinner without permission first; but it was so stinking cute and innocent, I couldn't say no.

You and X had a ton of fun this weekend and you were even invited over to his house for a sleep over. I wasn't quite ready for that, but made a point of meeting his parents that night so that the next time you are asked, I may say yes.

Have I mentioned this is the kid who is going away for the entire summer? You admitted to me tonight that you are sad he is leaving. Me too, two and a half months is a long time in kid world.

Kewl Breeze

You called me at work as you were getting ready to leave for school this morning and told me "I like the picture so much that I don't know how to explain it!" This picture comes from the comic book that came with your last pair of mostly unused-now-almost-too-small Skechers.

We finally finished February's homework (shameful mother, partially redeemed) and it gave me a great opportunity to see where you are at academically. I look at everything you bring home, but seeing the bigger picture is nothing short of amazing. My little boy who could barely write the shortened version of his first letter in block letters (shameful, lazy mother), now writes his full first and last name in a snap. You can add and subtract and make up sentences that make sense, mostly - which really impresses me. I love the writing journals you bring home. I love to see you work out the sounds of words from your head to the paper. And your pictures? Stinking adorable.

All better

(Iron Man, 3/4 version)

Your faith in me is not unwarranted. I may not be a computer genius, but I am not incapable of curing a rather nasty virus that got by my antivirus software, or at least neutralizing it enough to get us by until I can do a thorough cleaning. Yes, I'm tooting my own horn, but you were pretty pleased with me, too. After all, it means that Cartoon "Nef"work and Starfall are still only a click away. Oh, and have I mentioned how proud I have been at your choice in activities on the computer lately? Starfall (aka, a learning site) over Ben 10? Wow.

Today, you asked me if it was OK to tell your teacher about our impending move because sometimes you just want to, and I said it was OK, not knowing that you had already told her. Apparently, she was pretty distraught over it because she mentioned it to grandma during pickup today. You are the Good Student. The Rule Follower. Teachers adore you. I wonder if that's your maturity over your peers, or if it's your DNA. Grandma said you stand in line by yourself before the bell rings instead of playing with your friends on the playground and I wonder if that's good for you, or if it's ultimately going to isolate you. You are a rule follower, much like I was, and I would very much like you to enjoy being a kid more than I did. As long as you aren't getting sent to the principal every day, it's cool to let your hair down every once in a while, okay?

Basically, it's ok to act like yourself. Pretend you are at home when you are at school and you'll do just fine, kiddo.

Love,

Your mother, who is constantly giving you advice you do not want.

Power Ranger!

So you got to pick out this picture too. I've been too lazy this week to actually think up something to draw for you on my own, so I've enlisted your help. After I was done drawing Monday's picture, I reverted to my childhood self and drew a sloppy princess. And it was fun, but...childish. I still can't draw hands unless I'm looking directly at a picture of them, and she was a little disproportionate. When I threw the paper in the garbage, you looked at me and asked me WHY I would throw that away? I love that you get a kick out of anything I draw. I guess that's a clue that I should start drawing more things from my imagination, but that is probably a weekend project. By the time I sit down to draw you something on a week night, the (minimal) amount of creativity I possess is zapped.

Ice Cream

I confess, this has been a difficult week, lunch note wise. We've got a lot going on in our little world and a lot of it is good, but it is distracting...sort of like your friends at lunch. You actually got through four whole bites of your sandwich today (yes, I counted the little bite marks) so you declared today's lunch a victory. Uh, well, it's BETTER, but four tiny bites of a sandwich in twenty minutes doesn't exactly prove that you weren't distracted. I mean, I don't want you to DEVOUR your food, but I'm starting to think hot lunch is a better choice, since it means you won't sit with your "distractions".

In other news, you have repeated that you want to cancel your party enough that it has become a little bit of a nuisance and I had you pretty much convinced tonight that I had actually done as you had asked. I didn't exactly LIE about it, but stretched the truth to prove my point and when you told your father on the phone that I had cancelled your party, I couldn't help but silently score a parenthood victory when you told him, "No, we can't un-cancel it, because when Mommy says something, she really means it." HA! I can rest easy knowing that my child knows I am NOT a pushover.

(Even though I totally am in this instance. It is your BIRTHDAY party. I can't really mean it without giving myself the biggest guilt trip of my life.)

Do you know what is causing this whole debacle? I mean, you may not remember years from now, so let me write it down. For prosperity's sake.

You are afraid that your little *girl* friend from school will show up in a bikini.

Green Lantern

Par for the course: Thursday and Friday's notes aren't nearly as thought out as Monday through Wednesday's. So let me just apologize right now for Green Lantern: Ballerina Edition.

You aren't getting through very much of your lunch these days. You seem to only be able to find enough time to open up your "lunch note" and eat a bite of your sandwich. It is not a mystery as to WHY this is happening; by your own admission, you have too many "distractions" (your words). What are your distractions? Two girls, of course.

So I said that maybe it was time for you to sit with your guy friend "L" and you told me that "L's" mom doesn't want to buy him lunch, so he eats cafeteria food and sits at a different table. I don't think he is actually a "free" student, so it is pretty cute that you think bringing your lunch means buying it.

Batman, Again

Flash Races to the Rescue!

This was taken from a page of one of your favorite Step Into Reading books:

It was a big reading week for you. Your teachers sent home a sheet of words you might be able to read and now I think I know why people become teachers; it must be so satisfying to watch kidlets sponge up what you teach them and then go out and actually apply it! Of course, the parents play a big role too, but I'll be honest, I had NO idea how to teach you to read before someone else started guiding you (hence the reason I have never been one of those overeager parents who taught you to read and multiply at age two). Now I feel like we've opened a treasure chest and I am getting such immense joy out of helping you along.

Tonight, I was teaching you the "sh" sound and when you are tired, you tend to sound words out and then say something completely different. For instance, you may sound out "Dog" Da-ah-ga and then announce with great pride HOUSE! After sounding out "S-ma-ah-sh" and rolling the sh sound around in your mouth for a few seconds, you went into auto pilot and came out with the first word that came to mind containing an sh and it wasn't smash. Nope. And here is where I tell you that I know I better REALLY watch my mouth in the car; but I didn't think about that until after I picked myself up off the floor because it was so innocent and funny and you were so mortified at what you just said, that laughter was all I had for it. You aren't one of those kids that swears, you are a little rule follower, so when something like that pops out of your sweet little mouth, it is funny; and the parenting police can kiss my...

Ironman

You were disappointed that you only got half an Ironman, but something about his head is very hard for me to draw and honestly, I was feeling lazy last night. Seems to happen every Wednesday and Thursday, huh?

Superman Redux

I hope I somewhat redeemed myself with this Superman, surely he's better than the last? This weekend I told you something I thought you already knew, given the origins of the first lunch note: I told you that I'm not coming up with these things from my imagination, but that I am copying (freehand, not tracing) from other pictures.

You said that I am cheating. So, in a moment of ohyeahwelltakethis maturity, I asked you if you could come up with the same thing just by looking at a picture.

Why yes, sometimes I act like a child, too.

NEENER NEENER NEENER.

You bought your first cafeteria lunch today, but the chicken nuggets were disappointing. You were expecting McDonald's and you got Tyson. You also weren't impressed with the carrots at the salad bar, but I was impressed that you at least took carrots from the salad bar. Welcome to the wonderful world of cafeteria food!

Spidey

Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can!

You actually got through your entire lunch today. Of course, that's partly because I'm learning not to overwhelm you with choices. A half peanut butter sandwich (that was made with Peanut Butter and Jelly from separate jars, NOT Goober, but I didn't tell you that until after you had eaten it), a small amount of Cheez-It's, a peach cup and a very small piece of brownie. The only thing that came home in your lunch box/tote/whatevertheycallthemthesedays was the picture.

I'm going to declare today's lunch a success.

Weekly Wrap - Superman with no Lower Body Strength

I really don't have an excuse for this:

The picture I drew that (sorry excuse for a superhero) from depicted Superman flying, but somehow his legs came out looking like tree stumps doing ballet. I scribbled the girl in haste and oh my, it shows.

Who am I kidding? I scribbled the whole thing in haste. I got lazy. It was Thursday night and I couldn't even bother to color properly. I stayed within the lines, but does that even really matter?

The good news is that you got another great laugh at my expense.

***************

Did you know that your parent's learn with you? For instance, I learned at curriculum night this week that your teachers are much less comfortable speaking in front of adults than they are in front of you. This would have been fantastic information to have as a kid.

Also, sitting in a child sized blue plastic chair for more than five minutes is pretty uncomfortable when you've got a mom-sized rumpus.

I learned that you weren't exaggerating when you said they don't give you enough time to eat at lunch. Your schedule says 20 minutes in the cafeteria and 25 minutes of play in the 110+ weather. I'm not sure if teaching kids to stuff their faces as fast as they can and then forcing them out into the heat is such a good idea. I struggle with telling you to learn to deal with it, or turning into an annoying helicopter parent who wants to make sure her growing boy who never has enough to eat gets enough sustenance.

You will start homework next week, but I already know what to expect. I know there is a lot of debate out there about this sort of thing, especially for KGers, but you are so in love with school that we end up doing our own version of "homework" at night anyway. I think you are going to enjoy the challenge.